Conservative America: The big shift right

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A man signs a message board at a Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. Over the past four decades – and more sharply over just the past few years – the geopolitical center of America has shifted rightward. The center of debate has edged closer to the conservative position, while activists on the right have moved even further out on the political spectrum. Kevin LaMarque/Reuters/File

For a generation, US Sen. Orrin Hatch (R) of Utah has been considered a model of conservatism in Washington. Yet today Mr. Hatch faces formidable opposition – for not being conservative enough. Roll Call/Newscom/File

Sen. Jesse Helms, activist Phyllis Schlafly, and Sen. Orrin Hatch participated in an anti-Equal Rights Amendment dinner in Washington in 1979. Over the course of his 34- year career, Sen. Hatch has championed rightwing judicial nominees, consistently opposed federal gun control measures and backed a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. He has sponsored or cosponsored a balanced budget amendment no fewer than 17 times. In 2010, the American Conservative Union gave him a perfect 100 ranking. Charles Tasnadi/AP/File

Young people walked past a booth celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of former President Reagan, icon of the modern conservative movement, at a meeting in Washington in February 2011. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Thousands rallied on the Boston Common when the Tea Party Express, a California-based group that supports conservative candidates, ended a cross-country bus tour in April in traditionally liberal Massachusetts. Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff/File

Abortion foes have passed many limits on abortion in statehouses, suggesting a move right on the issue, but Roe v. Wade still stands and many polls show a majority of Americans support a women’s right to choose. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP/File

Carmela Kenney arranges a bridal veil for a same sex pair of mannequins in a store in New York, one of several states to liberalize laws on gay rights. Generational changes are pushing public opinion to the left when it comes to certain moral and cultural issues, most notably gay rights. Mark Lennihan/AP

The direction of the country on other social cultural issues remains less discernible. Gun rights have expanded in many states – here, a Colt revolver is auctioned off in Arizona, which recently
designated it the official state firearm. Mark Henle/AP/File

Farm workers load cucumbers in Georgia, which, like many states, has passed laws cracking down on illegal
immigration. John Bazemore/AP

“The country is gradually evolving into a new reality based on population, demographics, and diversity,”
says Professor Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia. “We’re going to be a majority minority country, which has tremendous implications for politics.” J. Scott Applewhite/AP/File

After a protracted battle, Indiana Wednesday elected to make union dues optional for workers in union jobs. It’s the first state in more than 10 years to adopt a so-called right-to-work law and the first state ever in the industrial Midwest to go that route.